


A Different Kind of Blade

by LadyLuthien



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Ice Skating, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 13:02:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17305118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLuthien/pseuds/LadyLuthien
Summary: Prompt submitted to DAPromptExchange on Tumblr. Not edited, I've just been home sick all day and I am bored witless."Hawke takes Fenris ice skating and for the first time Fenris finds himself not so nimble on his feet." Set very early on, pre-relationship. Possibly the first winter they all spend in Kirkwall together,





	A Different Kind of Blade

The cold in the air felt like it was sliding its way into his very lungs. Snow was still drifting softly from the sky, but he could see the moon through the clouds. In the distance, the barrier surrounding the ice rink that had been set up for Hightown’s nobles was crammed with onlookers and skaters alike, each on either side of the fence. Fenris frowned down at the laces of his skates. Shoes were not his favorite at the best of times, and these were especially challenging.

“Need a hand?”   


He started and looked up to see Hawke in front of him, her skates already tightly laced and her robes exchanged for leggings and a tunic. 

“Aren’t you cold?” He asked, looking at her garb.

“A little, but we’ll warm up once we get moving.” She blew on her hands, then knelt in front of him. “Here, you want them tighter or else you’ll hurt yourself.”

Fenris watched as her deft fingers worked the laces, then - “Ow!”

“Right, not that tight then.” And after a pause - “Better?”

“Are they supposed to feel that tight?”

“They’re supposed to feel supportive. If you can move your ankles easily, they’re too loose.” Hawke tipped herself back onto her skates and stood with ease on the carpet that had been laid out to protect the stones from the silvery blades of the skaters around. “Try standing up.”

Fenris did, and immediately fell sideways as his weight transferred onto the narrow skates. Hawke steadied him, her brown eyes twinkling with laughter. 

“Easy. Get your balance.” 

He swore quietly, but wobbled himself back into a straight position. “And people do this for fun?”

“It’s fun once you get the hang of it!” Hawke pouted jokingly. “I’m going to go warm up, or we’ll both be falling over out there. You try and walk around on this carpet before you go out onto the ice.”

Fenris took a small step forward, catching himself as he threatened to tip again. She was walking away from him, an easy saunter that accentuated her body. No staff tonight, not that she wasn’t dangerous without one. It allowed him a better look at her lower back and the curve of her, and - 

He wobbled again and lost his train of thought.  _ Probably for the best. _ Limping his way to the railing, he clung on for what felt like dear life and watched her as she stepped onto the ice. For a moment, he saw her shake with lack of practice - she had told him that she hadn’t been skating since she was a child in Lothering - and then one skate bit into the ice and she was moving, fast and graceful, snaking between the noble ladies and their pompous husbands, her arms pumping and her body low. He watched as she did two swift laps, then stopped in front of him with a spray of ice.

“I think you need to lower your expectations,” Fenris said dryly.

Hawke was laughing, snow crystals in her hair and caught on her eyelashes. “That wasn’t me showing off, I promise! I haven’t done this in years, I wanted to be sure I still could.” With a slightly shaky turn, she reversed and held her hands out to him, inviting him onto the ice. “Ready?”

_ No.  _ “I suppose I am.” Gripping the railings, he stepped onto the ice. It was exactly as slick underneath him as he would expect, given that he only had a few lines of steel supporting him. Shakily, one hand reached for her and she grasped it. At her recommendation he had exchanged his gauntlets for leather gloves, but her hands were still warm through them. He felt the lyrium thrum under his skin at her touch. 

Hawke reached for his other hand. “I’ll skate backwards for a moment, give you a chance to figure it out.”

 

Thirty aching minutes later, his calves were one giant cramp. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like this. Hawke, meanwhile, had found her friends - Varric, Merrill, the guardswoman who seemed to like him for no known reason - and had left him to get his accursed feet under control. He wobbled slowly over to them where they stood, talking on the side. 

“Hullo, Fenris!” Merrill called out as she saw him approach. She was lacing on skates as well. 

Fenris looked down at Varric’s feet. “No skating for you?”

Varric chuckled. “Not a chance. A beach at sunset with a beer in my hand? Absolutely. Sliding around on a frozen puddle? Not so much.”

“Because there’s an abundance of beaches, sunsets, and beers at the moment,” Fenris pointed out. 

Hawke laughed uproariously at that. “Is this to mean that you’re enjoying yourself?”

“I am in  _ pain _ ,” Fenris retorted. “How strong do your legs have to be to do this?”

“You tell me,” Hawke said, pivoting gracefully away from the rail. The rink was clearer now - most of the noble couples had gone home to their comfortable beds. She skated deftly to the center of the rink, then turned in an elegant pirouette that was only slightly spoiled by a jerking stop at the end. 

Fenris knew a challenge when he saw one. Letting go of the railing, he placed one foot before the other and stumbled out onto the rink to meet her. His choppy steps were nowhere near what she could do, but he could move, and that was an improvement on the beginning of the evening. Making it to the center alongside her, he carefully slowed himself before turning, one step at a time, in a jerky circle. 

The crew at the railing burst into laughter and applause, and Hawke doubled over with the force of her cackling. “See? You’re a natural!” She took his hand again, and he felt himself thrill with her touch again. “Come on, let’s see how fast you can go.”

 

Standing at the rail, Varric turned to Aveline. “Look, I know I haven’t known her as long as you have, but is it safe to say that the two of them might become, ahem, an  _ item _ in the near future?”

Aveline shrugged, kicking a foot back. “Perhaps. After everything Hawke’s been through, she deserves something good right about now.”


End file.
